


Deep Roots

by queen_scribbles



Category: Pillars of Eternity
Genre: AU, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Crack, Multiverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-22
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-10-14 15:29:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17511167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queen_scribbles/pseuds/queen_scribbles
Summary: Adela’s always been curious, but an unexpected encounter while exploring the Endless Paths give her the perfect excuse to do what she does best: ask questions & find answers





	1. Uninvited Guests

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter is fill #75: Double. Since it’s AU anyway, decided to use the Star Rewritten ‘verse, which turned out to be a very good decision. The rest is me expanding more on the solution

 

Someday she’d learn. It was a matter of averages and consequences that someday, eventually, she would heed the ‘don’t mess with things you don’t understand’ proverb. But that day was not today. Or likely any time soon; Adela had always felt if no messed with things they didn’t understand, they’d never stop being things no one understood. Her curiosity was a matter of public service, really.

The justification earned her knowing chuckles and skeptical looks from most of her friends, a  _‘that’s one way to look at it’_ and an approving pat on the back from Kana, and a quiet, heartfelt _‘just please be careful’_ from Heodan. She did her best, because it was _Heodan_ asking, but some days you needed to take chances and risk making mistakes. Knowledge only came with testing limits, it was just a matter of finding the right balance between testing and being safe.

Today that balance meant letting Heodan come along to watch her back(and if she enjoyed having his company and no one else’s, well, that was just a nice bonus, wasn’t it?) while she more thoroughly examined some of the relics and such in the Endless Paths. After all, what was the point of clearing out all the dangers if she couldn’t explore a little? Today she wanted to get a closer look at Od Nua’s tomb. The lot of them had been... rather antsy the first time through--knowing they were near the end and just wanting this done. She hadn’t stopped to look around.

As Engwithan burial chambers went, it was rather plain, Adela admitted as she walked the edges of the room. But given the circumstances of Od Nua’s death, that was hardly a _surprise_.

“How long do you think you’ll need, Adi?” Heodan asked, his gaze shifting suspiciously from shadow to shadow. “This part of the place feels.... unsettling.”

“Imagine passing through when it was guarded by the spirit of a mad king,” Adela said breezily as she took a charcoal rubbing of one of the few wall carvings. “It was ten times more nerve-wracking. But I shouldn’t need more than an hour before we can start working our way back up, promise.”

“Why are we doing it like that, anyway?” His tone was all idle curiosity, fingers brushing a carven pillar.

“So if we get tired and call it a day after four or five levels, I don’t have to come as far down to pick back up,” Adela explained. She stowed the rolled-up rubbing in her satchel and moved on to the next section.

“Smart,” Heodan chuckled.

“Thank you.” She focused on the wall more intently, hoping to hide her blush in the flickering torch- and adra-light. ( _They_ were such a new development, and she still felt silly going red as a schoolgirl half the time when he complimented her.) There wasn’t much more to be found there, however, and so she turned her attention to the adra column in the center of the chamber, final resting place of Od Nua.

To her surprise, the knobby adra seemed.... brighter than before. It hadn’t been _dead_ after Od Nua’s departure, but it had dimmed significantly without an immediate soul presence sustaining it. Now, though, it appeared to have regained some of its natural glow.

“Interesting...” Adela murmured, walking closer, hand outstretched. _Maybe I can feel what’s going on..._

“Adi, are you sure that’s a good idea-” Heodan’s cation was lost under a thunderous crack as the adra flashed so bright under her touch for a moment all either of them could see was white.

When they blinked the spots out of their vision, the adra column had cracked, fine splinters littering the floor around both the column and the two kith who now sat sprawled in front of it-- a tanned elf with short, messy brown hair, and a pale, freckled human with long red hair tied up in a messy bun.

“Damn, Rekke,” the elf groaned good-naturedly, rubbing the back of her head.  “When I told you to just go for it with hittin’ me, I didn’t mean quite so fuckin’ hard.”

The redhead muttered something in a language Adela didn’t quite recognize and shook his head. “I do not think you can pin this on me, Watcher.”

_Watcher? She’s... like me?_ Adela stared at the new arrivals, then looked over at Heodan, only to find him looking at her as if hoping for an explanation. She didn’t have one; this was hardly an everyday occurrence.

And it got even weirder when the elf broke from gaping at her surrounding to whirl toward Adela’s surprised gasp. Her eyes narrowed at the presence of kith, then flew wide when her gaze landed on Heodan. She physically recoiled, looking like she’d seen a ghost.

“Aren’t you fuckin’ dead?”

Apparently, in her mind, she had.

>O<

The following silence was both awkward and protracted, until Heodan looked down at himself as if to check and then, skeptically, back to the elf. “No?”

She scrambled to her feet, still staring at the two of them, and offered her companion a hand up. “Not tryin’ to imply it’s a bad thing you’re not, it’s just... I thought... the fuckin’ bîaŵac....” She broke off her disjointed train of thought to look around again. “Alright, I’m sorry, where the _fuck_ are we? And who’re _you_?”

“We’re in the Endless Paths beneath Caed Nua,” Adela replied slowly, equally curious where these kith had come from and how in Wael’s name they’d gotten here. But it was probably a good idea to get this elf less on edge before she drew the sabres hanging at her belt.

Her answer appeared to have the opposite effect, the elf narrowed her eyes.  “And what’re you  doin’ here? Isn’t it blazin’ dangerous?”

“That’s why I have back-up” --Adela jerked a thumb towards Heodan--”just in case. And I’m down here to explore what’s beneath my keep.”

“ _Your_ keep? How the fuck’s it _your_ keep?” The elf crossed her arms.

_Galawain’s gaping maw, can she make it through a sentence without swearing?_   “Because I cleared it out and routed Lord Gathbin and was named the Roadwarden,” Adela said slowly. She inched closer to Heodan at the look on the elf’s face. “What?”

“ _I_ did all that,” the elf said, briefly uncrossing her arms to emphatically jab a finger into her own chest. “ _Five fuckin’ **years**_ ago. What’s goin’ on and who. the fuck. are you?”

“Adela Tecali, Watcher, scholar, and Roadwarden,” Adela introduced herself.  “Apparently, you... already know Heodan... somehow.” _Though you think he’s dead, so I dunno what to make of that._ The elf’s muttered words about the bîaŵac came back to her. “Were you part of the caravan?”

“Odema’s? To Gilded Vale?” She paused to wait for Adela’s nod. “Yeah, but I was the only survivor, between the Glanfathans and...” another glance at Heodan, “other things. You got Calisca hidden somewhere around here, too?”

Adela frowned. This was... several different kinds of unsettling. She wished Aloth and Kana were still here to help untangle this mess. “No, she’s dead. Has been for about a year. Who’re _you_?”

“Oh, where are my manners?” the elf said sarcastically. “I always forget to introduce myself to people I meet in unfamiliar parts of the shithole maze underneath my keep.” She flung one arm out in an aggrandized bow. “Tavi Illani, Watcher, Roadwarden, adventurer.” She nodded at the redhead. “This is Rekke. His Aedyran’s rough but gettin’ better so... talk slow.”

“Oh, really?” Adela fixed Rekke with a curious look. “Where’re you from? What’s your native tongue?” _Why’s it sound so close to mine?_

“Adi, Adi.” Heodan rested one hand on her shoulder, a smile in his voice despite the bizarre circumstances. “She _just_ said _**slow**_. And don’t you think we should figure out what happened before you start interrogating our visitors as to their origins?”

“Right, right, sorry,” Adela winced. “My curiosity gets away from me too easily.”

“Can’t blame ya, under the circumstances,” Tavi shrugged, one side of her mouth tugging up in a smile. “Bet you an’ Kana would get along fuckin’ _great_.”

“We _do_. Well, did,” Adela corrected. “He left for Rauatai a couple weeks back.”

“Okay, can this mess _get_ any blazin’ weirder?” Tavi raked her hands through her hair, which did nothing for its messy state.

“Hopefully not,” Adela said wryly. “What were you doing right before you ended up here?”

“We’d stopped on an uninhabited island so we could make ship repairs--fuckin’ pirates, y’know. We beat ‘em, but not easy--an’ Rekke and I decided to pass time by sparrin’. It’s practice and burnin’ off adrenaline at the same time, seemed like a good idea.”

“On your ship or on the island?” Adela bit her lip in thought, already working on a theory.

“The island,” Tavi said. “We were tryin’ to stay out of the way, after all.”

“Is there adra on this island?”

“Yeah,” Tavi said slowly. “Some right near where we were sparrin’, too. This bastard” --she affectionately bumped her fist against Rekke’s shoulder--”clocked me but good an’ I banged against it... You think that’s the reason?”

Adela shrugged. “Id hafta do some digging to be sure” - _-a lot of digging_ \-- “but we already know adra has deep roots that connect all across Eora. Wouldn’t surprise me if they can do more than that.”

“Great, like I didn’t have enough reason to be wary of that shit,” Tavi groaned. 

“That sounds like a story,” Adela said, ears twitching as she rocked up on the balls of her feet. Heodan cleared his throat softly and she added, “which you’d probably be more comfortable telling up in the library? Or Brighthollow? That’s prob’ly better; it’s cozy an’ I have plenty of room since everyone’s gone on their way. Still a couple hours’ trek up, I’m afraid.”

Tavi exchanged a look with Rekke and shrugged. “Better than stayin’ here til we figure out what happened and how to fix it.” Her expression turned sober. “If we can fix it.”

“Oh, there’s gotta be _something_ we can do,” Adela said warmly as the four of them started up the stairs. “We just have to figure out what made it happen in the first place, and use that to work out a way to send you back... wherever you came from.”

“Just like that, huh?” Tavi laughed.

“While I’m sure the actual steps will take longer than the summation made it sound, yeah, that’s basically all we have to do.” Adela twirled the end of her braid around her finger and glanced up at Heodan. “And I’m sure _certain people_ will be happy I’m pursuing something less risky than crawling around the tomb, ossuary, blight forges, and other unsavory domains of a mad Engwithan king.”

Heodan’s lips twitched in a smile, but his eyes were a clear and innocent blue when he looked back at her. “I’m sure I don’t know _who_ you’re talking about.”

“Uh-huh, sure.” Adela ran her thumb over the jewel in her ring. “You’re lucky I find the prospect of days on end reading old books just as enticing as crawling around a multi-layer crypt looking for artifacts.”

“Hylea’s tits, just kiss already,” Tavi muttered behind them, and the two shared a mischievous look.

“If you insist,” Adela said cheerfully, and scampered ahead a few steps to solve the height disparity before leaning in to steal a quick kiss. Heodan obliged with a laugh, holding her close a couple seconds longer than she’d been planning, which made Adela smile. She winked at Tavi over his shoulder when they parted. ”Thanks for giving me an excuse.”

“You’re welcome,” Tavi chuckled. “Damn, way to call my bluff. So where’d you two meet?”

“Odema’s caravan,” Adela said, resuming course for Caed Nua’s basement. “I was traveling from Ixamitl and he was from-”

“-Aedyr, I remember,” Tavi said absently, followed by an awkward silence as  _‘Aren’t you fuckin’ dead?_ ’ echoed in their minds. “So, then, a burning question: If _Watcher_ Adela here.and I somehow lived the same fuckin’ events and all... Heodan, how’d you survive for her?”

“I was still in the ruins,” he said, voice soft. “I needed to catch my breath.” Adela didn’t have to look to know he’d pressed one hand against the scars just below his ribs. “A skuldr got me pretty good, and we’d been in a hurry. Adi and Calisca kept going and... I missed all the fun.”

“Heh, fun’s one way to put it,” Tavi muttered. “’Specially if it went down for her like it did for me...”

The rest of their ascent was occupied with Adela and Tavi comparing and contrasting their experiences from Cilant Lîs onward. It was one of the most surreal conversations Adela had ever had in her life.

She couldn’t wait to figure out the driving force behind it.

 


	2. Best Guesses and Hopefullys

It took a month. Two weeks reading every book on adra and souls and anything remotely related she could get her hands on just to form a relatively sound theory on what happened, and another two figuring out how to fix it-- _if_ she was right. That month was littered with night Adela fell asleep at her desk, draped across an animancy text on adra’s capacity for soul conductivity, or a treatise on its various uses, or an accounting of Watcher abilities. Somehow, though, she always woke from those nights tucked snugly into her own bed. It was a  “mystery” that earned Heodan a lot of grateful smiles. 

There were days off scattered in there, too. Days she largely spent talking to Rekke. She got answers to her questions about where he was from--Yezuha--and what his native was--Seki--and even learned some.

“Hopefully I can remember all of it,” she joked as they rushed a bit through a lesson so she could get back to her research.

“You’re smart, I think you will,” Rekke encouraged with a smile.

Finally, after a trio of all-nighters that left her twitchier than a lightning strike survivor, Adela thought she had things figured out. She wrote down all the important points and promptly passed out from exhaustion--half on top of Heodan, who’d been keeping her company. After sleeping long enough to ensure coherency, she tracked down Tavi and Rekke and explained what happened, at her best guess.

“I was actually pretty close down in Od Nua’s tomb,” she said, brushing back flyaway hair. “Adra has deeper roots than we, or anyone, guessed. Adra veins don’t just connect all over Eora, they also tie together... different Eoras.”

“Huh?” Tavi frowned in confusion.

“Y’know how we both seem to’ve lived the same story, in the broad strokes? The caravan, the bîaŵac, being Watcher of Caed Nua, all that, with a few differences? Like Heodan and which god we pledged to?” After Tavi nodded, Adela continued, “This is gonna sound crazy--it still does to _me_ , and it’s _my_ theory--but I think there’s a bunch, who knows how many exactly, of different Eoras. Where someone different is ‘ _the Watcher’_ in each one. A former slave, an orlan priest, an Aedyran noble... take your pick. Point is, it’s someone different in each one, even if some version of us--maybe not exactly the same--exists in all of them.”

“This is making my head hurt,” Tavi grumbled, leaning forward to frown even more deeply at her. “So there’s another Tavi Illani here, who looks like me?”

“In theory, though her life may have gone very different than yours,” Adela said. “And it makes my head hurt, too, don’t worry. Your Eora may have an Adela Tecali who’s a merchant or a sneak-thief, or accepted that invitation I turned down to the Selona academy- What?”

Tavi shook her head, lips twitching in private amusement. “Nothing. Inside joke. So you think adra ties all these Eoras together and runs between them?” 

“Its roots already run to the very heart of the world, right?” Adela shrugged. “Why not to other worlds, too, if they exist? And we were both touching adra when you were... brought here. So it at least plays a role. Us both being Watchers probably contributed, too.”

“So how come me an’ Rekke wound up here, rather than you’n Heodan comin’ to me?”

“I... don’t know,” Adela admitted. It was a really good point. “Maybe because my touching the adra was deliberate while yours was accidental? Maybe my soul had a stronger pull since part of yours is missing?” She shuddered slightly upon remembering Tavi’s recounting of Caed Nua’s destruction and tried to think of another option.  “Maybe... maybe due to Od Nua being trapped in this adra for so long, it got an essence boost from having his soul stuck there, rather than passing through.”

“Assumin’ one of those is right--which I bet it is; you’re fuckin’ smart--how’re we gonna fight this end’s stronger pull to get away from this Eora, let alone back to ours?”

More good questions. Tavi was smarter, or more insightful at least, than she gave herself credit for.

“I’m not _completely_ sure,” Adela said cautiously, playing with her elephant pendant. “But I _think_ , if both of us touch the crypt adra while you concentrate on everything--good, bad, and in between--you can remember about your life as Watcher, hopefully that’ll line you up right to get back to your Eora.”

“Hopefully? The best you’ve got after a _month_ is fuckin’ _hopefully_?” Tavi pushed to her feet and started pacing agitatedly. “Would Rekke come with me? When on my timeline or whatever would we get back? What if we’ve been missing for this whole time? What if we go back earlier than we left? Will there be two of us on the ‘other Eora’ or will I just appear precognitive until we fuckin’ catch up?”

Adela raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you’re not a scholar or philosopher of some kind? Those are some damn good questions.”

“Really? Just seems common sense to me.” Tavi blushed at the praise and rubbed the back of her neck. “I’m usually only perceptive when it comes to my, uh...” Her nose wrinkled and face contorted as she searched for the right word.  “Uh, my...”

Rekke chattered a few words in Seki before supplying, “Aloth.”

“Yeah, him.” Tavi waved a hand in Rekke’s direction. “My Aloth as in my world’s, not like I own him.”

Her raised eyebrow going even higher, Adela couldn’t help asking, “Are... you two _together_?” She laughed gleefully when Tavi nodded. “Hound’s teeth, if your Aloth is like my Aloth, I bet you two make an interesting pair.”

Tavi shrugged. “Opposites attract, we balance each other out, blah blah blah, all the usual shit.”

“Sorry,” Adela smiled sympathetically. “You get that a lot, huh?”

“All the damn time,” Tavi confirmed. “But gettin’ back to the issue at hand....?”

“Right, right, sorry. I rabbit-trail a lot. Part of being curious. Getting back to all your excellent questions, I have to admit I don’t know. There’s no precedent; nothing like this has ever happened before. I can give a best guess from what I know about adra and souls and Watcher abilities, but this situation is a first. I can’t promise a solution, let alone a perfect one. It’s all best guesses and hopefullys and gambling that we figured right.”

“Not adverse to risk, but I usually prefer to gamble things like money or favors, not _me_ gettin’ _home_ ,” Tavi said, deadpan.

“Understandable and wise, but we don’t have a choice.” Adela tugged on her braid. “It’s gamble on this or stay here forever.”

“Well, what is _this_? You haven’t really explained that part all the way yet,” Tavi pointed out.

“Because I don’t really have much beyond what I said a few minutes ago,” Adela said. 

“You mean the the ‘ _Both of us touch the adra down in the Paths while I think real fuckin’ hard about my life and **hope** I go back to the right Eora_’ plan? That plan?”

“Yeah.” Adela fidgeted with her necklace again, agitation swelling in her chest.  “Look, Tavi, there’s only so much you can do for _sure_ when confronted with a new, unknown problem on this scale. Intelligence only helps to a point, then it’s guessing and hopefullys like I said, and a good helping of risk. _Hopefully_ this will actually work, _hopefully_ Rekke will go with you, physical contact will prob’ly help, _hopefully_ we get you home. But I am not a damn miracle worker, so I _can’t. promise. **anything**_!”

The silence stretched awkward for a minute or two, none of them quite sure how to follow that outburst.

Finally, Adela sighed, curling the end of her braid around one thumb. “Sorry. I’m still tired, I shouldn’t’ve-”

“No, no, you’re right, Adi.” Tavi flashed an apologetic smile. “I’m askin’ you to be fuckin’ omniscient about somethin’ no kith’s ever encountered before, and that’s not fair. You put a lotta time and thought into findin’ a solution, an’ here I am actin’ like risk isn’t one of my favorite things in the world.” She snorted. “Or, worlds, as the case may be.”

Adela giggled. “I really do wish I could be more sure, Tavi. Testing theoreticals is all well and good, but it’s different asking someone else to take the risk.”

“Well, not _all_ the risk,” Tavi said quietly. “What if you get pulled with us?”

That thought had occurred to her, but it was good to know it wasn’t a completely unfounded concern. Adela smiled grimly. “Then I hope Adaryc is still somewhere Heodan could get in touch with him. We’ll need a Watcher on this end to get me back.”

“So... when do we try?” Rekke piped up, learning forward in his chair.

Adela shrugged. “I’m ready whenever you two are.”

“Shouldn’t you at least tell Heodan?” Tavi asked, flicking hair out of her eyes. “So he knows what’s happening in case... somethin’ goes wrong or whatever?”

Adela pursed her lips, more than a little torn on the matter. “I _should_ , but if I do, he’ll worry and want to come watch my back, and that’ll put _him_ at risk. I don’t wanna do that.”

“Adi.” Tavi put a hand on her shoulder and waited for Adela to look at her. “One thing I’ve learned about the quiet types, from bein’ in love with one myself, they’re just as brave and do not need protection’, no matter how temptin’ it is.”

“Easy for you to say,” Adela muttered, mind’s eye full of dragon claws and _too much blood_. “Yours didn’t almost die and wind up crippled saving your neck.”

“He’s come closer’n I’d fuckin’ like a couple times,” Tavi said, making a face. “But it’s his choice, even if it’s nerve-wrackin’ as hel for me. And for a rabbit trail of my own, Heodan doesn’t seem crippled.”

“Alright, maybe ‘crippled’ is too strong. It’s his arm,” Adela explained with a sigh, running one hand down her braid. “His collarbone got broken and healed less than perfect. Limits his range of motion on that side. That’s when he stopped adventuring with me and settled in to run the craft hall.”

“Ah. It still should be his choice, Ad. Tell him, let him decide if he wants to come. Even if he doesn’t, at least he knows in case you up and disappear. So he can get in touch with Adaryc about fixing it, like you said.”

“You’re right,” Adela sighed. “I know. I just-”

“Want to protect him,” Tavi finished. “ _Believe me_ , I know the feeling. But you gotta let people make their own fuckin’ choices.”

“Alright, alright,” Adela caved with a laugh. “I’ll go tell him. You two make sure you’ve got everything you came with and maybe we can get heading down within the hour? Unless you want another night in real beds before going back to ship bunks and camping?”

“Tempting as that is, there’s no time like the present,” Tavi said. “We really should get back.”

“ _Ta_ ,” Rekke agreed with a nod. “Our friends will wonder, and Aloth will worry about her.” He nodded toward Tavi.

“Only if there’s a gap,” she protested, then smirked. “‘Course, if he _does_ , I get to reassure him, and that’s always _fun_.”

“Don’t wanna know!” Adela threw up her hands and gestured toward the door. “I’m gonna go talk to Heodan while you two get your stuff.”

She could still hear Tavi snickering halfway down the hall.


	3. There's No Place Like Home

As she’d suspected, when she filled him in, Heodan did want to come.

“I know I probably won’t be much use or help,” he said as they walked back toward the main keep. “But I still want to be there, just in case it turns out there _is_ something I can do.”

Adela flashed him a grateful--if nervous--look. “I’m so lucky I have you.”

He blushed and ducked his head. “That goes both ways, Adi.”

She wrapped her braid around her hand and offered back a shy smile as she tugged open the door to the hall. “Thank you.”

“Well, aren’t you two fuckin’ adorable,” Tavi called from where she lounged against the wall near the dungeon entrance. She was back in the battered practice leathers, sabres hanging at her belt. “Rekke’s comin’. One of the dogs made off with his quarterstaff an’ he’s triyn’ to convince her to give it back without havin’ to wrestle it away.”

“Lemme guess, the yellow Lab?” Adela sighed. “She likes to chew on stuff even more than the others.”

“That’s the one.” Tavi nodded.

“Yeah, I have a couple grimoires with teeth marks on ‘em,” Adela laughed. “No matter what I try, that dog will not stop chewing stuff.” Movement caught her eye. “Ah, there he is.”

Rekke gave a little wave as he joined them. “A souvenir,” he said wryly, holding up the staff. Several sets of doggy teeth marks nicked the previously smooth wood.

“Sorry,” Adela said sheepishly.

“It is alright,” Rekke waved her off. “I can fix when we get home, _ta_?”

“You can indeed. And on that note....” she gestured toward the dungeon entrance and tucked loose hair behind one ear. “Shall we?”

“Absolutely,” Tavi nodded, taking up a lead position as the four of them descended once more into the Endless Paths. It was a quiet walk, for the most part.

Adela was triple-checking her conclusions in her head, just to be _sure_. There were, after all, multiple lives in the equation, not just hers. She was pretty sure Tavi and Rekke were both bracing themselves; brave as they both were, the unknown was always a little scary. And Heodan... she had no idea what he was thinking, except that it probably involved him worrying about her. They both did that a lot; worry about each other. And, she had to admit, it wasn’t entirely without cause under the current circumstances.

They were all ready as they were going to be by the time they reached the crypt level and were confronted by the cracked column of adra. It was, interestingly enough, still glowing the typical amount for live adra. The massive crack appeared to have little or no impact on it.

“So... do we just.... do this?” Tavi asked, cracking her knuckles. She shot Adela a questioning look.

Adela nodded. “Pretty much. We touch it while Rekke’s touching you and pray for the best.” She squeezed Heodan’s hand. “You stay back here so nothing happens to _you_ by accident.”

“Adi.” He tugged her back and knelt to put them at eye level, but then seemed to lose what he wanted to say. “I...”

She rested one hand on his chest and the other on his cheek, felt his stubble rasp against her fingertips, and studied his face for a long, _long_ moment. Just in case. “I know,” she said softly.

He finally mustered a small, nervous half-smile before pulling her into a kiss. When they parted, he carefully ran his fingers through her hair, tucking the flyaway tendrils behind her ear. “Don’t go anywhere,” he murmured.

“I’m not planning to,” she promised in a whisper, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek before she regretfully stepped away. Tavi and Rekke had moved to the opposite side of the room, which she appreciated, and Adela cleared her throat as she joined them.

Tavi raised an eyebrow. “Ready?”

Adela nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat.

The elf’s expression softened. “Hey, it’s gonna be alright.”

“Hope so,” Adela muttered through a tight smile. There were _so many_ unknowns. “For all our sakes.”

The three of them approached the adra, Adela and Tavi with hands outstretched, Tavi with her other hand tangled in Rekke’s. When they were less than an inch from the warm green stone, the two Watchers shared a last look.

“Good luck,” Adela said.

Tavi grinned and winked at her. “Yeah, you, too.”

It was as jarringly unceremonious as their arrival--hands met adra, blinding white flash, and when Adela’s vision cleared, she and Heodan were the only ones in the chamber. 

He blinked his own vision cleared and shot her a crooked, relieved smile. “Did it work?”

Adela smiled back, a wide, equally relieved grin. “Not really any way to know for _sure_ that they got to the right place, but being an optimist, I’m gonna say yes.”

>O<

As if the awkward landing wasn’t bad enough, Rekke’s elbow dug hard into her ribs when he landed on top of her.

“ _Son_ ovafuckingbitch,” Tavi hissed as soon as she had her breath back. Her hands dug into the ground as she pushed herself up, and she’d made it to her knees before it registered. 

Grass. Dirt. She could _hear birds_.

“We... made it?” Rekke mumbled, sounding about as dazed as she felt. 

“I think so,” Tavi said, grinning as she looked around. “Sure looks like the same _place_ , at least. Only one way to check the... other factor.”

The two of them carefully, gradually, made their way to their feet. Once steady, Tavi took off like a shot toward where the _Defiant_ had dropped anchor and didn’t even slow down until she reached the beach.

Aloth was still right where she’d left him, perched on a well-shaded boulder with a book open in his lap, though he’d read most of it since she headed off with Rekke. He looked up at her caught breath and the spray of sand from her abrupt halt.

“There you are,” he smiled. “The repairs are almost complete, Xoti was about to go look for you two...” his voice trailed off and he cocked his head. “Are you alright, Tavi? You look a bit... scattered.”

“Oh, Rekke got me good a couple times,” she brushed it off( _It’s not technically lying_ ) “But, yeah, long as I’m here with you, city slicker”--she leaned in to kiss him on the cheek--”everything’s just fine.”

Aloth briefly looked more skeptical at the unprompted romantic gesture, but simply shrugged. “At any rate, I’m glad you’re back.”

Tavi snorted and sat next to him on the rock. “Yeah, me, too.”

>O<

Heodan was quiet until they were halfway back up to Caed Nua. “Adi... do you think things will play out the same for you as they did for her?”

“Whaddya mean?” She let one hand trail along the wall as she looked over at him.

“The... part where Eothas inhabited the statue down here and tore his way out to go do who knows what,” he replied, digging at a hangnail.

“Oh, that.” She thought for a minute. “Probably? All the other major things have been in common to both of us; the bîaŵac, the hearings, this place, Thaos... it wouldn’t surprise me if that one is, too. But we can wait until it’s a little closer to start worrying, I think.”

“About a thought-dead god ripping out part of your soul and almost killing you? I’m supposed to _forget_ that’s coming?” Heodan said incredulously. “ _ **Adela**_.”

She stopped a couple steps up from him and turned to look him in the eye.  “Heodan. It’s only _potentially_ coming. For all we know, Kana will invite me to go adventuring after he talks to the lore college, or my family will need me back in Ixamitl. I might not even _be_ here. _ **If**_ it happens. I just said _probably_.”

“You also just figured out that there’s multiple Eoras and how to send people between them, so I think your _probably_ s are probably right,” he retorted.  “And I don’t want to... Adi, I _can’t._..”

“And you won’t have to,” she promised, resting one hand on his chest. “Besides, even if it happens, I think _I_ have more to worry about, considering the “only survivor” part. What d’you think that would mean for _you_?”

He half-smiled. “Well, I’ve apparently already survived one thing that was supposed to kill me, according to Tavi. Who’s to say it wouldn’t happen again?” 

She looked skeptical. “Rather not risk that, love. But if this Eothas thing seems a likely threat as it gets closer, we‘ll come up with a solution then. For now though... I think we deserve a reward for working out that mess. I still have some darkest Rauatai cookies squirreled away in my room. You wanna go hide up there and enjoy them together?”

He kissed her forehead. “You just said the magic word.” 

Adela grinned impishly. “What, cookies?”

Heodan shook his head as he matched her grin. “Together.”

She laughed at that, though her heart squeezed at how worried he must’ve been, and they hurried the rest of the way out to implement her plan. Home wasn’t going anywhere, and neither were they.


End file.
